New Black literary genres challenge the racial inequalities of mainstream America, and the idea of "Black is beautiful" emerges.
1940 - Richard Wright, father of Black Protest fiction
1950 - Gwendolyn Brooks, first Black Pulitzer Prize recipient
1953 - Ralph Ellison wins National Book Award
1953 - James Baldwin writes “Go Tell It on the Mountain”
Host: Alphonse Keasley. (2014/U.S.)
One of the amazing American sagas is the history of African-American Literature. It is a history of a literature that rose out of slavery, oppression and racism to become one of the great literary traditions in the world. Great African American Authors, an eight part series, brings to light the accomplishments of over 40 brilliant black writers, who against all odds wrote great novels, plays and poetry. These authors include Phillis Wheatley, James Weldon Johnson, Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, August Wilson, Rita Dove and many more. Their story is the story of America, the story that all Americans should know.
